Deaf children with signing parents, nonnative signing deaf children, children from a hearing impaired unit, oral deaf children, and hearing controls were tested on theory of Mind (ToM) tasks and a British sign language receptive language test. Language ability correlated positively and significantly with ToM ability. Age underpinned the…

Used 198 cases of father-daughter sexual abuse to compare natal fathers, stepfathers, and father substitutes. Found non-natal fathers to be disproportionately represented among paternal abusers; however, natal fathers were more likely to subject daughters to intercourse. Found several differences between stepfathers and father substitutes.…

Explores links between father involvement at age 7 and emotional and behavioral problems at age 16, and between father involvement at age 16 and psychological distress at age 33. Father involvement at age 7 protected against psychological maladjustment in adolescents from non-intact families, and father involvement at age 16 protected against…

Highlights the centrality of women to social reproduction through a focus on the sociocultural processes of parental involvement. Argues that, although most mothers help children with school work, only middle-class mothers have resources to shape effectively the curriculum offered. Concludes that the market system of education favors the middle…

The Ward Infant Language Screening Test, Assessment, Acceleration and Remediation (WILSTAAR) comprises a programme for identifying and helping 8?10-month-old infants showing early signs of language and communication difficulty. The study addresses one of the queries raised by critics of the programme by providing evidence about the backgrounds and…

This paper addresses, from a Kleinian perspective, some of the dilemmas and technical issues faced by the child psychotherapist in work with looked-after and adopted children. A selective review of psychoanalytic literature focusing on the use of transference and countertransference is given. Clinical material provides some examples of different…

Data from 520 British secondary school age children were used to explore determinants of and mental health outcomes (measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire) from their non-resident fathers' relationships (child-reported father's involvement and frequency of contact) with them. Frequency of contact was negatively related to time…

In this article, the author presents a genealogical analysis of the shifts (and continuities) in discourse during recent decades toward a "new sociology of childhood". He illustrates first historically (in Belgium and internationally) how the construction of the child at risk has been interconnected with the notion of the mother as…

School absenteeism and particularly unauthorized absenteeism or truancy has been the focus of a number of, so far largely unsuccessful, recent policy initiatives. The paper draws upon two sources of data, the British Household Panel Survey and detailed interviews with a group of persistent truants, to consider the extent, consequences and…

Presents meta-analysis of 30 recently published research studies which reported influence of clearly identifiable family socialization variables on self-reported adolescent drinking. Variables were sorted along the dimensions of support and control and along a family structure dimension. Results indicated a low support and lax control were…

Prior research suggests shared environmental influences on cognitive performance are important in early childhood. However, few studies have attempted to identify the factors comprising this shared environmental variance. To address this issue, we examined the covariance between task orientation, parental warmth, socioeconomic status and general…

The translation of research into practice in social care is long on theory and short on practical examples. We describe a pilot project, which identified an important practice issue--the promotion of positive attachment in early infancy--explored the evidence base, summarised the findings, and devised an implementation process. The site of the…

Whilst there is broad consensus that the emotional responsiveness and sensitivity of staff are of high importance in interactions with babies and young children in nursery, there is not consensus about how far interactions should be organised to facilitate attachments with particular staff. This paper brings the "child's voice" into this…

Argues that corporal punishment is a part of the UK's culture which needs to be banned by the government, as it has been in other European countries. Finds that hitting is not a good way to teach children proper behavior, has nothing to do with good discipline, does not relieve parents, and causes domestic stress. (SD)

Argues that outlawing corporal punishment of children by parents in the U.K. would be in line with developments in European jurisprudence. Maintains that the United Kingdom is in breach of several international law norms. Claims that prohibiting corporal punishment would lead to less abuse and thus less interference with parental autonomy.…